List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 308
# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 308

This is a list of cases reported in volume 308 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1939 and 1940.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 308 U.S.

The Supreme Court is established by Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which says: "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court . . .". The size of the Court is not specified; the Constitution leaves it to Congress to set the number of justices. Under the Judiciary Act of 1789 Congress originally fixed the number of justices at six (one chief justice and five associate justices). Since 1789 Congress has varied the size of the Court from six to seven, nine, ten, and back to nine justices (always including one chief justice).

When the cases in volume 308 were decided the Court comprised the following members (Justice Butler died in the midst of the time-period covered by volume 308):

| Justice | Office | Home State | Succeeded | Date confirmed by the Senate (Vote) | Tenure on Supreme Court |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Charles Evans Hughes | Chief Justice | New York | William Howard Taft | February 13, 1930 (52–26) | February 24, 1930 – June 30, 1941 (Retired) |
| James Clark McReynolds | Associate Justice | Tennessee | Horace Harmon Lurton | August 29, 1914 (44–6) | October 12, 1914 – January 31, 1941 (Retired) |
| Pierce Butler | Associate Justice | Minnesota | William R. Day | December 21, 1922 (61–8) | January 2, 1923 – November 16, 1939 (Died) |
| Harlan F. Stone | Associate Justice | New York | Joseph McKenna | February 5, 1925 (71–6) | March 2, 1925 – July 2, 1941 (Continued as chief justice) |
| Owen Roberts | Associate Justice | Pennsylvania | Edward Terry Sanford | May 20, 1930 (Acclamation) | June 2, 1930 – July 31, 1945 (Resigned) |
| Hugo Black | Associate Justice | Alabama | Willis Van Devanter | August 17, 1937 (63–16) | August 19, 1937 – September 17, 1971 (Retired) |
| Stanley Forman Reed | Associate Justice | Kentucky | George Sutherland | January 25, 1938 (Acclamation) | January 31, 1938 – February 25, 1957 (Retired) |
| Felix Frankfurter | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Benjamin Nathan Cardozo | January 17, 1939 (Acclamation) | January 30, 1939 – August 28, 1962 (Retired) |
| William O. Douglas | Associate Justice | Connecticut | Louis Brandeis | April 4, 1939 (62–4) | April 17, 1939 – November 12, 1975 (Retired) |

## Notable Case in 308 U.S.

### Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington)

Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington), 308 U.S. 147 (1939), was a decision that combined four similar appeals (Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington), Young v. California, Snyder v. City of Milwaukee, and Nichols v. Massachusetts), each of which presented the question whether municipal ordinances abridged the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and of the press secured against state invasion by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The appellants (Jehovah's Witnesses) were charged with violating ordinances barring persons from distributing handbills on public streets or handing them out door-to-door. The Supreme Court held that the purpose of the ordinances (to keep the streets clean and of good appearance) was insufficient to justify prohibiting the appellants from handing out literature to other persons willing to receive it.

## Federal court system

Under the Judiciary Act of 1789 the federal court structure at the time comprised District Courts, which had general trial jurisdiction; Circuit Courts, which had mixed trial and appellate (from the US District Courts) jurisdiction; and the United States Supreme Court, which had appellate jurisdiction over the federal District and Circuit courts—and for certain issues over state courts. The Supreme Court also had limited original jurisdiction (i.e., in which cases could be filed directly with the Supreme Court without first having been heard by a lower federal or state court). There were one or more federal District Courts and/or Circuit Courts in each state, territory, or other geographical region.

The Judiciary Act of 1891 created the United States Courts of Appeals and reassigned the jurisdiction of most routine appeals from the district and circuit courts to these appellate courts. The Act created nine new courts that were originally known as the "United States Circuit Courts of Appeals." The new courts had jurisdiction over most appeals of lower court decisions. The Supreme Court could review either legal issues that a court of appeals certified or decisions of court of appeals by writ of certiorari. On January 1, 1912, the effective date of the Judicial Code of 1911, the old Circuit Courts were abolished, with their remaining trial court jurisdiction transferred to the U.S. District Courts.

## List of cases in volume 308 U.S.

| Case name | Citation | Opinion of the Court | Vote | Concurring opinion or statement | Dissenting opinion or statement | Procedural jurisdiction | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Massachusetts v. Missouri | 308 U.S. 1 (1939) | Hughes | 8-0[a] | none | none | Original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States (original jurisdiction) | leave to file bill of complaint denied |
| Pittman, Clerk of the Superior Court of Baltimore v. Home Owners' Loan Corporation | 308 U.S. 21 (1939) | Hughes | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the Maryland Court of Appeals (Md.) | affirmed |
| Standard Brands, Inc. v. National Grain Yeast Corporation | 308 U.S. 34 (1939) | McReynolds | 7-0[a][b] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | affirmed |
| Estate of Sanford v. Internal Revenue Service | 308 U.S. 39 (1939) | Stone | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | affirmed |
| Rasquin, Collector of Internal Revenue v. Humphreys | 308 U.S. 54 (1939) | Stone | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | affirmed |
| Boteler v. Ingels, Director of Motor Vehicles of California | 308 U.S. 57 (1939) | Black | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | affirmed |
| United States v. Glenn L. Martin Company | 308 U.S. 62 (1939) | Black | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.) | reversed |
| Treinies v. Sunshine Mining Company | 308 U.S. 66 (1939) | Reed | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Palmer v. Massachusetts | 308 U.S. 79 (1939) | Frankfurter | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | affirmed |
| Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Wilshire Oil Company | 308 U.S. 90 (1939) | Douglas | 7-0[a][c] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | reversed |
| F.H.E. Oil Company v. Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue | 308 U.S. 104 (1939) | Douglas | 7-0[a][c] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Case v. Los Angeles Lumber Products Company | 308 U.S. 106 (1939) | Douglas | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | reversed |
| Ziffrin, Inc. v. Reeves | 308 U.S. 132 (1939) | McReynolds | 8-0[a] | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (E.D. Ky.) | affirmed |
| Valvoline Oil Company v. United States | 308 U.S. 141 (1939) | Reed | 8-0[a] | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (W.D. Pa.) | affirmed |
| Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington) | 308 U.S. 147 (1939) | Roberts | 7-1 | none | McReynolds (without opinion) | certiorari to the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals (N.J.) | all reversed |
| Neirbo Company v. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation | 308 U.S. 165 (1939) | Frankfurter | 5-3 | none | Roberts (opinion; joined by Hughes and McReynolds) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | reversed |
| John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company v. Bartels | 308 U.S. 180 (1939) | Hughes | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | affirmed |
| United States v. Borden Company | 308 U.S. 188 (1939) | Hughes | 8-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (N.D. Ill.) | dismissed in part, and reversed in part |
| Cities Service Oil Company v. Dunlap | 308 U.S. 208 (1939) | McReynolds | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | reversed |
| Union Stock Yard and Transit Company v. United States | 308 U.S. 213 (1939) | Stone | 8-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (N.D. Ill.) | affirmed |
| United States v. Lowden | 308 U.S. 225 (1939) | Stone | 8-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (N.D. Ill.) | reversed |
| National Labor Relations Board v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company | 308 U.S. 241 (1939) | Roberts | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.) | reversed |
| Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. F. and R. Lazarus and Company | 308 U.S. 252 (1939) | Black | 7-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Cir.) | affirmed |
| United States v. Sponenbarger | 308 U.S. 256 (1939) | Black | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | reversed |
| Danforth v. United States | 308 U.S. 271 (1939) | Reed | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | affirmed in part; reversed in part |
| Bruno v. United States | 308 U.S. 287 (1939) | Frankfurter | 8-0 | McReynolds (without opinion) | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | reversed |
| Pepper v. Litton | 308 U.S. 295 (1939) | Douglas | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.) | reversed |
| Pearson, State Treasurer of Oregon v. McGraw | 308 U.S. 313 (1939) | Douglas | 7-1 | Stone (opinion; with which Frankfurter concurred) | McReynolds (without opinion) | certiorari to the Oregon Supreme Court (Or.) | reversed |
| Weiss v. United States | 308 U.S. 321 (1939) | Roberts | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | reversed |
| Ford Motor Company v. Beauchamp, Secretary of State of Texas | 308 U.S. 331 (1939) | Reed | 7-1 | Black and Douglas (without opinions) | McReynolds (without opinion) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Nardone v. United States | 308 U.S. 338 (1939) | Frankfurter | 6-1[c] | none | McReynolds (without opinion) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | reversed |
| Jackson County v. United States | 308 U.S. 343 (1939) | Frankfurter | 8-0 | McReynolds (without opinion); Black (opinion; with which Douglas concurred) | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (10th Cir.) | modified |
| Griffiths v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue | 308 U.S. 355 (1939) | Frankfurter | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (7th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Buckstaff Bath House Company v. McKinley, Commissioner of the Department of Labor of Arkansas | 308 U.S. 358 (1939) | Douglas | 8-0 | Reed (brief statement) | none | certiorari to the Arkansas Supreme Court (Ark.) | affirmed |
| Helis v. Ward | 308 U.S. 365 (1939) | Douglas | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Chicot County Drainage District v. Baxter State Bank | 308 U.S. 371 (1940) | Hughes | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | reversed |
| Postal Steamship Corporation v. El Isleo | 308 U.S. 378 (1940) | Hughes | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | reversed |
| Haggar Company v. Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue | 308 U.S. 389 (1940) | Stone | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | reversed |
| American Federation of Labor v. National Labor Relations Board | 308 U.S. 401 (1940) | Stone | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | affirmed |
| National Labor Relations Board v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | 308 U.S. 413 (1940) | Stone | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Cir.) | reversed |
| LeTulle v. Scofield, Collector of Internal Revenue | 308 U.S. 415 (1940) | Roberts | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | affirmed |
| General American Tank Car Corporation v. El Dorado Terminal Company | 308 U.S. 422 (1940) | Roberts | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | reversed |
| Kalb v. Feuerstein | 308 U.S. 433 (1940) | Black | 8-0 | none | none | appeal from the Wisconsin Supreme Court (Wis.) | reversed |
| Avery v. Alabama | 308 U.S. 444 (1940) | Black | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the Alabama Supreme Court (Ala.) | affirmed |
| National Labor Relations Board v. Falk Corporation | 308 U.S. 453 (1940) | Black | 7-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (7th Cir.) | reversed |
| Bonet v. Texas Company (P.R.), Inc. | 308 U.S. 463 (1940) | Douglas | 7-0[b] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1st Cir.) | reversed |
| Higgins v. Smith | 308 U.S. 473 (1940) | Reed | 6-2 | none | Roberts (opinion; joined by McReynolds) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | reversed |
| Deputy v. du Pont | 308 U.S. 488 (1940) | Douglas | | Frankfurter (opinion; joined by Reed) | Roberts (opinion; joined by McReynolds) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | reversed |

    [a] Butler took no part in the case
    [b] Stone took no part in the case
    [c] Reed took no part in the case
    [d] McReynolds took no part in the case
